Trump may have charged more than half a million dollars per year in rent, according to the report.

Donald Trump's real estate company rented Manhattan office space to an Iranian bank that has been tied to terrorism groups — a move that may have violated American embargoes, according to a report Monday.

The Trump Organization rented more than 8,000 square feet of the General Motors Building to Bank Melli, one of Iran's biggest state-controlled banks, between 1998 and 2003, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Center for Public Integrity reported. Trump may have charged more than half a million dollars per year in rent, according to the report.

Advertisement

The United States had an embargo at the time against most American businesses working with — or taking money from — Iran. Under those sanctions, Bank Melli would have been barred from making transactions within the United States.

It was unclear if the bank was one of the few Iranian businesses granted an exemption to the embargo. Also unclear was whether the bank conducted business during those years, or merely held onto desirable real estate in hopes of the sanctions ending.

U.S. officials have said Bank Melli was used to obtain materials for Iran's nuclear program and to send at least $100 million for terror attacks committed by Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

What, me make money from Iran? (Patrick Semansky/AP)

President George W. Bush deemed the Quds Force a terrorist group just weeks after the 9/11 attacks. U.S. authorities said the group gave support to the Taliban, Hamas and Hezbollah, three other groups America designated as terror networks.

Trump inherited Bank Melli as a tenant when he bought the GM Building in 1998. The bank remained in the Manhattan skyscraper until 2003.

Trump has consistently smeared Iran on campaign trail, calling it a "big enemy" and blasting President Obama for sending $400 million to the country in an alleged hostage exchange.

But he has never mention his years-long deal with the country's bank, and did not immediately comment on the Monday report.

The report came just two days after The New York Times reported on Trump's 1995 tax returns, which showed the real estate magnate losing $916 million and skirting federal income tax for up to 18 years.

The latest bombshell also adds to the list of Trump's murky foreign business deals.

The General Motors Building in midtown Manhattan. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The Daily News reported that in June 2011, Trump sold the 45th floor of Trump World Tower for $4.5 million to Saudi Arabia — another country he regularly attacks in his campaign.